This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

The story of a household living in fear of tyrannical father may seem a little dated in today’s liberated society but Bill Naughton’s subtle comedy Spring and Port Wine feels surprisingly resonant today as it did in 1959.

Set in the Greater Manchester town of Bolton, Spring and Port Wine tells the story of the Crompton family. Rafe Crompton rules his wife Daisy and their four children with a rod of iron but times are changing...

Tim Delap (Rochester) and Nadia Clifford (Jane Eyre) in JANE EYRE. Photo: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

Beautifully acted and thought-provoking, JANE EYRE opens its UK tour at The Lowry

2017 marks the 170th anniversary of the first publication of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel JANE EYRE and it in a fitting tribute, the highly acclaimed co-production between the National Theatre and Bristol Old Vic opens its UK tour at Salford’s The Lowry. 

Originally presented as a two part performance at the Brist...

Silver Lining at ETT and Rose Theatre. Photo by Mark Douet

Despite the strong cast, SILVER LINING feels mechanical in its comedy

SILVER LINING takes place in the upper day room of the Silver Retirement Home in Gravesend. Storm Vera is battering the country and freak floods has prompted the evacuation of all riverside properties. But as five elderly ladies wait patiently in the retirement home for help to arrive, it soon becomes clear that they have been forgotten about...

This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

It’s safe to say that Grease is one of the most globally recognised and successful musicals of all time. Since its opening on Broadway in 1971, the smash-hit musical has enjoyed astounding success on Broadway and London’s West End, has toured throughout the world and has been seen by more than 12 million people in the UK alone...

Bill Kenwright’s latest touring production of EVITA is as fresh, provocative and absorbing as ever

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s award-winning musical EVITA may be almost 40 years old but in a world where the news is dominated by politics and unlikely ascensions to power, the biographical pop opera feels eerily relevant than ever before.

EVITA tells the story of Eva Peron, the second wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Peron...

David Grieg’s reinterpretation of THE SUPPLIANT WOMEN fails to live up to the power and passion of Aeschylus’ 2500 year old play

Based on Aeschylus’ 2500 year old play and made new by David Grieg, THE SUPPLIANT WOMEN is a short choral movement in three acts. It tells the tale of 50 women who arrive in Argos, the land of their ancestral Gods, seeking refuge from forced marriage with their Egyptian cousins and the perils of their exile. 

To open proceedings, the cast hark back to the days of...

This review was originally posted on The Reviews Hub. 

The Lancashire town of Oldham is known for many things, cotton mills, the invention of the tubular bandage and birth place of scientist Professor Brian Cox to name but a few. But in the late 1980s and early 1990s it was town’s football team, Oldham Athletic, who truly put Oldham in the spotlight.

For the first time since 1923, Latics’ reached the 1990 Football League Cup Final, winning the Second Division title in 1991 and ending 68 year...

Jack Tarlton as Stillman in Paul Auster’s CITY OF GLASS by 59 Productions. Photo by Jonathan Keenan

CITY OF GLASS is a bold, ambitious and high-tech piece of theatre which captures the crazy and claustrophobic nature of Auster’s original novella

If you’ve ever read Paul Auster’s CITY OF GLASS, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this multi-layered, metafictional mystery is too tricky to make the transition to the stage...

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox is a sassy and stylish night out that’s sure to leave a smile on your face

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox brought an authentic 1920s vibe to Manchester’s O2 Apollo last night as the rotating music collective rolled into town as part of the UK leg of their European tour.

Founded by Jazz pianist and arranger Scott Bradlee in 2011, Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) first found fame through YouTube...

ALFIE BOE: ON THE WHEELS OF A DREAM follows the world-famous tenor as he attempts to crossover from the world of opera to contemporary rock

It’s fair to say that Alfie Boe certainly knows how to belt out a tune. Since his rendition of BRING HIM HOME at the 2010 LES MISERABLES 25th Anniversary performance at the O2 Arena, the singer’s career has grown from strength to strength, leading to four top ten albums, a sell-out 2013 UK tour and over one million album sales to his name...